The Los Angeles Lakers picked up a steal in the 2018 NBA draft as they acquired shooting guard Svi Mykhailiuk with the 47th pick. The 21-year-old now calls the Staples Center home, but Director of Scouting and Assistant GM Jesse Buss was “terrified” that they would miss out on drafting him on the evening as she explained during an interview with Lakers reporter Mike Trudell.
MT: How worried were you that he wouldn’t be there at No. 47?
Buss: Terrified. We felt like he was basically a first round talent. We were surprised he was there at 39, andmuch more surprised he was there at 47.
Buss and the front office were correct in their estimations of Mykhailiuk, as the Kanas product showed out for the Lakers in the Las Vegas Summer League alongside new recruit Moe Wagner and Summer League MVP Josh Hart. The Lakers made the Final of the tournament, with both Wagner and Mykhailiuk displaying the kind of skillset that could really help the franchise moving forward.
Mykhailiuk was widely unknown before the draft and Summer League, as his first two seasons at Kanas he played a limited role. Things then changed in his junior year, as he was put into a starting lineup and was able to display his full array of offensive talent. Some of that talent included shooting the basketball, and Mykhailiuk definitely displayed his NBA ready range during the Summer League.
It was at this moment that the Lakers became big fans of his game, and first flirted with the possibility of bringing him to the franchise through the draft. There was little doubt in their mind that he was already one of the best shooters and scorers in his draft class, and he now has the ability to grow alongside superstar LeBron James and company when the regular season kicks off in less than two months.
Minutes may be hard to come by, but both Wagner and Mykhailiuk will put themselves in a position to see playing time for the purple and gold this upcoming season in their quest to make the playoffs.
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